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Is the Zimbabwe cricket team struggling for a frontline Test spinner?
That was one of the questions raised in the Chevron’s camp after the team’s recent poor run stretching over three Tests.
These include the two home series against Sri Lanka, and the one-off match against Bangladesh last week.
That Sikandar Raza picked the second best Test figures for Zimbabwe when he took 7-113 against Sri Lanka in the second Test in January, is a beautiful story.
But Raza, who started as a part- timer, has developed into a fully-fledged all-rounder, whose contribution with the ball continues to grow with each passing game.
It’s the same story with Test captain Sean Williams, whose all-rounder abilities have seen his bowling contributions, and responsibilities, increase in recent years.
Left-arm spinner Ainsley Ndlovu made his debut in the first Test against Sri Lanka in January and found the going tough bowling 28 wicket-less overs.
He was dropped for the second Test, after which Tino Mutombodzi filled that role, but he too toiled for 19 overs without any success.
Interestingly, Raza and Williams did most of the bowling in the series with 91 and 48.2 overs respectively.
Last week in Bangladesh, Ndlovu played his second Test, picking up two wickets for his 140 runs in 42 overs, while Raza had 1-111 in 30.
The retirement of Graeme Cremer has left big shoes to fill, but it’s also important to understand Ndlovu is only two Tests old, so there is room for improvement.
It is, however, sad that the international cricket stage can be cruel and unforgiving.
When Zimbabwe recorded their historic Test win in Bangladesh in 2018, they had Wellington Masakadza and Brandon Mavuta in their arsenal.
Unfortunately, their form has since dipped, and the two were not considered for the next Tests.
There is Eagles off-spinner Tapiwa Mufudza — who reached 100 First Class wickets last week against Tuskers — who has been a squad player for quite some time.
The Zimbabwe U19 team also had leg-spinner Tanaka Chesa and china man Tadiwa Nyangani who need nurturing at franchise level to develop for international cricket.
Meanwhile, Craig Ervine — the stand-in captain for the one-off Test against Bangladesh — told Espncricinfo Zimbabwe didn’t apply themselves very well in their innings and 106-run loss.
“Getting bowled out for 265 put us on the back foot and allowed Bangladesh to go past us,” he said.
“We could have also batted better in the second innings. The wicket wasn’t really that bad. I thought our bowlers worked hard to get those six wickets.
“Obviously, [we] didn’t hit the right areas enough, but I just thought that our batting let us down.”
It’s been said that numbers don’t lie and based on the aforementioned statistics, the future of Zimbabwe cricket looks bleak, unless a remedy is found — and quickly, too.
Online Reporter